Among the new wave of American filmmakers to emerge in the 2010s, Ryan Coogler is a unique voice in American cinema right now with five feature-length films so far with his most recent film Sinners having just been released in April of 2025. Notably for making films about the African-American experience and their encounter with tragedy and identity. While he has only made a small number of films so far, they are all diverse in the different genres they play whether it is about a real-life tragic event, twin brothers trying to create a place for their community, a young man trying to escape the shadow of the father he never knew, or a superhero living in a fictional African country. They all have something to say as well as appeal to the widest audience possible.
Born on May 23, 1986, in Oakland, California, Ryan Kyle Coogler was the son of Ira and Jocelyn Coogler as he would grow up with two younger brothers in Noah and Keenan. His family would also include an uncle in Clarence Thomas who had been a former secretary treasurer for International Longshore and Warehouse Union. Coogler lived in Oakland until the age of 8 when his family moved to Richmond, California to avoid the violence and chaos in Oakland though Coogler would have a love for the city as it would be a place of great importance for him in his life. While he would excel in athletics and attend Saint Mary’s College High School in Berkeley where he would also excel in academics. It was in creative writing where Coogler would find a love for storytelling as his teachers found promise in his writing as they encourage him to create screenplays due to his love for films.
Attending Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga, California where he would play wide receiver as he would befriend future football star Marshawn Lynch where they would often play against each other. The college would end their football program in 2004 as he transferred to Sacramento State on a football scholarship where he would succeed in the sport. It was in his academics where he would gain a bachelor’s degree in finance while also taking many film classes at the school where he would be accepted through the USC School of Cinematic Arts for a three-year master’s program after he had graduated from Sacramento State.
Early short films/Locks
At USC, Coogler would learn the craft of filmmaking where he would spend three years making short films. At the school, he would meet a young Swedish musician in Ludwig Goransson who was studying music scoring for film and television. Coogler and Goransson would strike up a friendship with Goransson, becoming a collaborator for all of Coogler’s works. While Coogler would also work for other students, he would make the first of three short films he did in USC in Locks. The film revolves around a young man walking into the streets of Oakland where he contemplates his identity. Especially through his dreadlocks where he watches several African-Americans either getting arrested or just hanging out as there was not a lot of dialogue in the film where it was mostly silent. Since it would be shot on location in Oakland, the city would be a prominent character for the films Coogler would create as he presented the short in 2009 where it screened at the Tribeca Film Festival where it won the Dana & Albert Broccoli Award for Filmmaking Excellence.
Two years later, Coogler would create three more short films during that time including Sculptor and Gap as the latter was written by Carol S. Lashof and won a directing award named after actor Jack Nicholson. Another short Coogler made that was written by Alex George Pickering in Fig which was about a woman trying to protect her daughter by any means where it is in the Figueroa area of South Los Angeles. The 15-minute short (which as of 6/22/2025 is currently unavailable on various streaming services except for Kanopy in which I do not have access to) highlights Coogler’s exploration of African-American identity and the struggles they endure relating to racism. The short would also mark the arrival of another recurring collaborator in editor Michael P. Shawver who would edit the film with Claudia Castello. The short would premiere in 2011 where it would two awards in the HBO Short Film Competition at the American Black Film Festival and the Student Film Award from the Director’s Guild of America.
On January 1, 2009, Oscar Grant III was shot and killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit Police Department officer while resisting arrest at the Fruitvale BART station. It was a story that Coogler would be aware of during his time at USC as he felt that the story about Grant’s final day should be told. Especially as it took place in his home city of Oakland as it is a story that hits close to home for Coogler. Coogler would meet attorney John Burris who was representing Grant’s family as well as the family in making a film about Grant’s final day as well as parts of his life. During his final year in USC, Coogler would meet Nina Yang Bongiovi who was the head of production for a new production company created by Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker in developing projects for new and up-and-coming filmmakers. Whitaker would also meet Coogler as he would contact the Sundance Screenwriters Lab to develop the script as he would receive funding from the San Francisco Film Society and other independent funding.
With music composer Ludwig Goransson and editors Michael P. Shawver and Claudia Castello on board for the production, Coogler would gain another key collaborator in cinematographer Rachel Morrison who was starting to emerge as a revered cinematographer in American independent cinema. Another figure who would also become a recurring collaborator for Coogler is Hannah Beachler who was new to the industry as Coogler chose her to become the film’s production designer despite her lack of experience. While the project was in development, actress Octavia Spencer who had just won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the 2011 film The Help signed on for the role of Grant’s mother that gave the film additional funding with Spencer also gaining an executive producer credit. With the help of casting director Nina Henniger, Coogler would get Kevin Durand and Chad Michael Murray as the two police officers who shot Grant as well as Melonie Diaz as Grant’s girlfriend Sophina. Coogler also had Grant’s mother play a small role as a schoolteacher to the girl playing her real-life granddaughter.
For the role of Oscar Grant III, Coogler wrote the part with one actor in mind in Michael B. Jordan who in 2011 was playing the role of quarterback Vance Howard in the TV show version of Friday Night Lights as the show had just ended. Jordan agreed to play the role of Grant marking the beginning of a fruitful actor-director collaboration between Jordan and Coogler. Production began in July of 2012 on a 20-day shoot in Oakland including the actual locations of where Grant was killed. Much of the shooting on those locations would happen at night with the permission from BART to get a realistic presentation about what happened that night. Coogler would also infuse flashbacks to play into Grant’s life and his own faults as a young man that include scenes at San Quentin State Prison where Coogler shot on the actual prison to play into Grant’s troubled past. While Coogler admit having reservations about using the footage that captured Grant’s death, he eventually gave in as he posted that, and footage posted a year later after Grant’s death for a memorial service on the man.
The film premiered on January 19, 2013, at that year’s Sundance Film Festival under the name Fruitvale where it would win the festival’s Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in its U.S. Dramatic section leading a bidding war for the film’s release where the Weinstein Company won the rights to release the film by spending $2 million for its rights although its budget was $900,000. Following a screening months later at the Cannes Film Festival where it played at the Un Certain Regard section and won a prize at the festival. The film would get a limited theatrical release in the U.S. on July 12, 2013, where it was well received from critics while grossing more than $17 million worldwide with $16 million in the U.S. The film would also be ranked among the year’s 10 best films of that year as well as garner many accolades including Best First Film from the New York Film Critics Circle and 4 awards from the National Board of Review including Best Directorial Debut for Coogler, Breakthrough Actor for Jordan, Best Supporting Actress to Spencer, and named as one of the 10 best films of the year.
Less than 2 weeks after the limited theatrical release for Fruitvale Station, MGM announced plans for a spin-off to the Rocky film franchise as it relates to the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed where Coogler has been chosen to direct the film. The news was sudden and surprising, yet Coogler said yes to the project as he asked friend Aaron Covington to help write the script that plays into a young man named Adonis who is the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed as he wants to become a boxer as he seeks the help of his father’s greatest rival in Rocky Balboa. During pre-production, Coogler got Michael B. Jordan to play the role of Adonis Creed while Sylvester Stallone agreed to reprise his role as Rocky Balboa having last played the character in the titular 2006 film. Coogler and Covington asked Stallone to participate in the writing since he did create the characters back in the 1970s, but Stallone chose not to while also playing the role of a producer along with Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff who had produced all the Rocky films.
In the spring of 2014, it was announced that Coogler and Stallone were officially involved in the film as pre-production continued with Coogler gathering several of his collaborators for the project in editors Michael P. Shawver and Claudia Castello, production designer Hannah Beachler, and composer Ludwig Goransson while gaining a new collaborator in Benjamin A. Burtt in doing the sound editing. With the help of casting directors Francine Maisler and Kathy Driscoll, real-life boxers Tony Bellew and Andre Ward were cast with the former playing the role of Adonis’ main opponent in “Pretty” Ricky Conlan. The casting would include Graham McTavish as Conlan’s manager, Tessa Thompson in the role of Adonis’ love interest Bianca, and Wood Harris as Tony “Duke” Evers’ son Tony Jr. For the role of Apollo’s widow Mary Anne Creed, Phylicia Rashad would be cast replacing Sylvia Meals who had died in 2011.
Production began in January 2015 with much of its production shot on location in Philadelphia with some of the film shot on location in Oakland. Coogler’s regular cinematographer Rachel Morrison would be unavailable for production due to scheduling conflicts as Coogler would receive the services of the renowned cinematographer Maryse Alberti. Shooting would have Coogler going out of the U.S. for the first time by shooting a scene at Goodison Park for a fight scene involving the Conlan character as it was also the place for the Everton Football Club in which Bellew and Stallone are supporters of. Production would continue in Philadelphia in early February of that year to play into the atmosphere of the city with Adonis adjusting to a colder environment. Coogler also wanted to bring in a few things that related to the Rocky films including Balboa training Adonis in methods that Balboa did under the tutelage of his trainer Mickey Goldmill. Coogler did not just want to bring a few Easter eggs but also wanted to maintain a sense of realism into the fights as well as drama as it relates to Balboa’s post-fight life as he is struggling with being alone and later dealing with cancer.
The film premiered on November 19, 2015, followed by a wide release a week later where the film was a critical and commercial success, grossing more than $173 million worldwide with a $108 million gross in North America over the film’s budget at around $35 million-$40 million. The film’s success would also garner accolades including the New Generation award for Coogler from the L.A. Film Critics Association as well as several awards and nominations for Sylvester Stallone including an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The film would later spawn two sequels with Jordan directing the third film that would also be a critical and commercial success in which Coogler would be involved as a producer. Despite its success, the production was a difficult experience for Coogler as his uncle James had passed away during shooting as he would take a break from making films where he would marry Zinzi Evans in 2016 as she would later become a producer for his own films.
During his break from filmmaker, Marvel approached Coogler to direct a film version of the character Black Panther as he was one of several names attached to direct the film. Coogler initially turned down the offer as it was offered to other filmmakers including Ava Duvernay as Marvel’s producer Kevin Feige felt that a film about an African superhero should be directed by a Black filmmaker. The project had been in development since the early 1990s when actor Wesley Snipes had been trying to get the project going for years until he did Blade when it was released in 1998. The project would go through development hell for years until the mid-2010s when Feige and casting director Sarah Halley Finn reviewed an audition tape for actor Chadwick Boseman who was auditioning to play the role of Drax the Destroyer for Guardians of the Galaxy as the part would go to Dave Bautista for the film’s 2014 release. Boseman would be cast as T’Challa/Black Panther as the character would make its debut in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War as the character stood out with audiences.
Coogler was finally attached to the project in early 2016 though plans for a 2017 theatrical release were pushed to 2018 giving Coogler time to develop a script with a writer at Marvel in Joe Robert Cole as it would be set in the fictional African country of Wakanda as Coogler had been familiar with the comic story and characters that was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee along with many other writers throughout the years. Coogler and Cole would create a storyline about T’Challa accepting his role as King of Wakanda following his father’s death in Civil War but also discovering an enemy who wants the throne of Wakanda. With Boseman having played the role of T’Challa/Black Panther to great acclaim, he and Coogler worked closely on creating a strong character as the only other actors from Civil War that would take part in the project is Florence Kasumba as the Dora Milaje second-in-command Ayo, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, and John Kani as T’Challa’s father T’Chaka, with Andy Serkis reprising his role as Ulysses Klaue whom he played in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
With Michael B. Jordan playing the role of the main villain Erik Killmonger and Lupita N’yongo in the role of T’Challa’s lover Nakia, Coogler also wanted to expand the cast with actors of African or African-American descent in key parts of the film with the help of Sarah Halley Finn. On July 2016, Coogler attended the San Diego Comic Con event where the announcement of the Black Panther film was announced with an ensemble cast unveiled that would include Angela Bassett as T’Challa’s mother Queen Ramonda, Danai Gurira as the Dora Milaje leader Okoye, Daniel Kaluuya as the border tribe leader W’Kabi, Sterling K. Brown as T’Chaka’s brother, Forest Whitaker as the royal advisor Zuri, Isaach de Bankole as the river tribe elder, and two newcomers for the film in Winston Duke as the Jabari tribe leader M’Baku and Letitia Wright as T’Challa’s younger sister Shuri as she would join the film in 2017. The pre-production would go on for years where Coogler wanted to make Wakanda as this futuristic yet rich African culture as he and production designer Hannah Beachler wanted to bring a realism but also pay tribute to African cultures. Added to the team of Coogler’s collaborators is costume designer Ruth E. Carter who had been known for her work with Spike Lee as she also researched African wardrobe from other countries to help create a distinctive look for the film.
Production began in 2017 as it would be shot at EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Atlanta where Wakanda would be set along with additional locations in Busan, South Korea and Oakland where Coogler would be surrounded by his team of collaborators including cinematographer Rachel Morrison, editor Michael P. Shawver, sound editor Benjamin A. Burtt with another new member to the team in Steve Boeddeker in the sound, and Ludwig Goransson who would help create a music score that played into elements of traditional African music and textures as he spent years researching different music from the continent. Goransson would also collaborate with rapper Kendrick Lamar in cultivating a music soundtrack for the film that would a mixture of hip-hop, R&B, and African music. The production was immense where Coogler wanted to present this idea of Afro-futurism as well as wanting to be a film that explored a man taking on a role and the identity, he must play for not just his own people in Wakanda but also for something much bigger. While Boseman had been diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer back in 2016, he kept his illness private from the media as he was willing to do a lot for what the film needed.
With a $200 million budget, the film premiered on January 28, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood followed by its wide theatrical release 2 weeks later during President’s Day. The film’s release was considered a landmark event as the film grossed more than $242 million in its four-day weekend with African-American entertainers and other African-American figures of wealth would rent movie theaters for children and the elderly to see the film. The film would receive widespread critical acclaim while it would make a rare feat in the North American box office grossing more than $700 million in the box office with a worldwide total gross of $1.4 billion. The film would also have a run at the North American box office that lasted for months which was also rare around the same time Avengers: Infinity War was released which also featured Boseman, Wright, Gurira, Duke, and Kasumba in the film playing their respective roles. The film was also a major success in African countries breaking box office records leading to a wave of countries creating comic series of their own.
Less than a year after its theatrical release that was followed by its home video release which added more financial success to Marvel. The film would garner many accolades as it was another rare feat for a superhero film as it received awards from various film critics circles as well as winning two Screen Actors Guild award for its stunt team and for the entire ensemble cast. At the Oscars, the film receives 7 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Original Song, Best Sound, and Best Sound Editing while it would win three Oscars for Best Production Design to Hannah Beachler and decorator Jay Hart, Best Costume Design to Ruth E. Carter, and Best Original Score to Ludwig Goransson. The Best Picture nomination was also a rare feat for the film although its loss to the film Green Book by Peter Farrelly remains a controversial decision with many African-American figures in the entertainment industry including Spike Lee, whose film Blackkklansman was also nominated for Best Picture, saw it as a slap in the face to black filmmakers.
The immense success of Black Panther immediately had Kevin Feige green-light a sequel as part of Marvel’s next series of films relating to a new saga of films that would relate to the Multiverse storyline. As part of the fourth phase of the Multiverse Saga, plans for a second film were made with Coogler agreeing to direct the sequel as well as writing with Joe Robert Cole. Coogler would spend some time off while working on a script with a Cole as well as help develop projects for other filmmakers including the 2021 film Judas and the Black Messiah for Shaka King that won two Oscars for Best Original Song and Best Supporting Actor to Daniel Kaluuya. It was around this time while developing the sequel to Black Panther when tragedy struck on August 28, 2020, when the film’s star Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer as production for the sequel was delayed. Coogler and Feige decided that the character of T’Challa would not be re-cast to honor Boseman.
Plans for an early 2022 release was pushed towards the end of the year as Coogler and Cole would rewrite the entire story as it would be an exploration of grief with the focus on T’Challa’s younger sister Shuri taking on the mantle of Black Panther. It would also explore a new conflict for the Wakandans as they would learn they are not the only country to possess the fictional metal vibranium. It would also play into the events five years following the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame known as the Blip where other countries want vibranium for their own reasons with those in Wakanda becoming suspicious of their intentions. Coogler and Cole would create a story that also played into the ideas of colonialism not just in Africa but also have the film set in Mexico as it relates to a fictional race of underwater living beings in the Talokan led by a figure known as K’uk’ulkan who also possesses vibranium as their land is under threat from countries wanting vibranium.
With many of the ensemble cast and crew from the previous crew returning apart from cinematographer Rachel Morrison who was forging her own filmmaker career as she would be replaced by Autumn Durald Arkapaw who had been a recurring collaborator for filmmaker Gia Coppola. Added to the film’s ensemble is Michaela Cole as a rebellious Dora Milaje who would later become part of the Midnight Angels group with Okoye. In the roles of the Talokan, Tenoch Huerta Mejia would be cast as K’uk’ulkan aka Namor with Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli as other Talokan tribe warriors while Julia Louis-Dreyfus would reprise her role as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine who was becoming a recurring character in recent MCU projects. Also added to the production is Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart as she had originally auditioned to play Shuri years ago, but Coogler and casting director Sarah Halley Finn kept the audition as called her to play Williams. Shot at the Trilith Studios in Atlanta as well as locations in Puerto Rico, Boston, and small shots in Switzerland, Mexico, and Haiti.
Production began in June of 2021 as Coogler later admitted that it was difficult due to Boseman’s passing with several actors working closely together to honor Boseman. Adding to its difficulty was an injury to Letitia Wright during filming in Boston as she was hospitalized temporarily where she would recuperate in London. Another problem during shooting was the death of Dorothy Steel who was reprising her role as the Wakandan Merchant Tribe elder as the film would also be dedicated to her along with Boseman. Despite its many issues, production would go smoothly while Coogler and music composer Ludwig Goransson wanted to go further into the music in not just utilizing an array of music from Africa but also ancient Mexican and Mayan music for its score. Barbadian singer Rhianna would also contribute two original songs to the film during post-production in 2022.
Released on November 11, 2022, the film would be a major box office hit grossing more than $450 million in North America with an additional worldwide gross of more than $405 million with a total of more than $850 million against the film’s budget at around $200 million to $250 million. While it would not achieve the same box office as its predecessor as well as the same critical response from its predecessor. The film was still a major hit with Angela Bassett getting a lot of praise for her performance including a win at the Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actress. At the Academy Awards, the film would receive five Oscar nominations including Best Supporting Actress to Bassett as well as Best Hair/Makeup, Visual Effects, Original Song to Rhianna, Tems, Coogler, and Goransson, and a win for Best Costume design to Ruth E. Carter.
Following a break between projects where Coogler contributed a storyline to the third Creed film that would be directed by Michael B. Jordan, Coogler would develop his first original script since Fruitvale Station as it would be a different project from everything he had done. Notably as it would be period-horror film set in the American South during the Jim Crow era where twin brothers return to Clarksdale, Mississippi to open a juke-joint for the locals only to attract vampires through their music. The project would be created through Coogler’s production company Proximity Media that he developed with Michael B. Jordan as Jordan decided to star in the film as the film would also feature Coogler’s wife Zinzi in her first official credit as a producer. With Jordan playing dual roles as the twin siblings Smoke and Stack Moore, Coogler would gather many of his collaborators on board as an announcement was made in January 2024 where a bidding war between various studios with Warner Brothers winning the bid where Coogler made a deal in receiving first-dollar gross, final cut privileges, and ownership of the film twenty-five years after its release in exchange of distribution rights to the film.
It was considered a monumental deal by many in the industry to a filmmaker with only a few films to his credit yet Coogler’s success with Marvel and two other films that did well commercially were proof of this. During pre-production, Coogler and cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw decided to have the film be shot in different film stocks and aspect ratios where the film would be shot on 65mm using a combination of IMAX 15-perf and Ultra Panavision 70 cameras as Coogler went to filmmaker Christopher Nolan for advice on shooting in 65-70mm as Nolan received a special thanks credit in the film. The production would be shot in and around New Orleans as production designer Hannah Beachler would create the place where Smoke and Stack would hold their juke-joint where Coogler also wanted to play into that period of 1930s American South. Coogler also emphasized mythology as it relates to the Choctaw tribe as it plays into the history of Mississippi where they originated from as they would make a brief appearance that would also play into the horror elements of the film. Reuniting with Francine Maisler who was one of the casting directors in Creed, Coogler would assemble an immense ensemble cast that would also include the previously announced Michael B. Jordan. Wunmi Moska, Delroy Lindo, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, Li Jun Li, Yao, Jack O’Connell, Lola Kirke, Saul Williams, Hailee Steinfeld, and a newcomer in Miles Caton would all officially join the film.
Production began in April 2024 for a three-month shoot where Coogler was given a $100 million budget for the film as part of the deal he made with Warner Brothers where he spent $67.6 million to shoot everything on location while hiring visual effects supervisor Michael Ralla and special effects supervisor Matt Kutcher in overseeing the visual effects. Since the film would also have actors singing and playing live in some scenes in the film, music composer Ludwig Goransson would help oversee things with his wife Serena producing the music as it emphasized on traditional blues and Irish folk music. Notably in a sequence in which Caton’s character Sammie plays the blues where it transcends time and space where mysticism and surrealism is present. The scene would have a mixture of music from the past to the music of the 21st Century where it adds to this element of mythology.
It would be a sequence that would attract the trio of vampires as there is an added twist in the film as it relates to the building that the Moore brothers bought from unaware that its landowner was affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan. Helping the Goranssons in wanting to capture an authenticity to the music is producer Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell who would help assemble various musicians in creating the music that included Brittany Howard, Raphael Saadiq, Bobby Rush, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and blues legend Buddy Guy who would make an appearance for one of the film’s post-credit scenes. Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich would also play part in the film’s score while Hailee Steinfeld would contribute an original song to the film.
The film premiered on April 3, 2025, in New York City before opening in theaters in the U.S. more than 2 weeks later. The film would become an immense commercial and critical success where as of late June 2025, the film made more than $276 million in North America with an additional $86 million worldwide grossing more than $360 million overall against its $100 million budget. The film would also gain a positive response with critics and filmgoers as well as those in the industry who lament over the lack of original ideas in American cinema.
Upcoming Projects
While Coogler has already announced that he would helm the third Black Panther with Denzel Washington playing a secret role in the film. Coogler has also taken part in developing projects with Marvel in the upcoming TV series Ironheart with Dominique Thorne reprising the role of the titular character/Riri Williams as well as the animated TV series Eyes of Wakanda. Coogler has also expressed interest in doing a film project relating to The X-Files tv series as he was a fan of the show while another project Coogler is developing with Michael B. Jordan is about the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal of the late 2000s.
With five feature films already made with all of them being successful and the upcoming return to one of the most popular film franchises that would feature one of American cinema’s legendary actors slated to appear. There is no question that Ryan Coogler is now an important figure in American cinema who makes films that do appeal to a wide audience as well as retaining a vision that is his own. Especially as he is working with the Hollywood system yet is still entrenched in his roots as an independent filmmaker. He is already becoming someone special as whatever project he will do next is going to be worth waiting for as long as he is given the time to create something that will blow audiences away. There are not a lot of filmmakers who made their first films in the 21st century that will get audiences excited for what they will do next but Ryan Coogler could be that filmmaker whose next film is definitely going to be an event as long as he continues to do what he does best.
Directed, edited, casted, and co-sound designed by Sean Baker and written by Baker and Chris Bergoch, Red Rocket is the story of a porn actor who returns to his hometown in Texas in the hopes he can return to Los Angeles to resume his career while he falls for a seventeen-year-old donut shop cashier whom he believes he can put her in porn. The film is the story of a screw-up who has burned many bridges as he schemes his way to get back in the good graces in those he has fucked over while also making promises to a teenage girl. Starring Simon Rex, Bree Elrod, Suzanna Son, and Brenda Deiss. Red Rocket is an intoxicating and riveting film by Sean Baker.
Set in 2016 in Texas, the film revolves around a washed-up porn actor who returns to Texas City trying to make some money in the hope of returning to Los Angeles where he meets a 17-year-old donut shop cashier whom he falls for and hopes to make her into a porn actress. It is a film that is largely a character study of a man who had burned many bridges with the porn industry in Los Angeles as he returns to his hometown for the first time in 17 years where he asks his estranged wife if he could stay at his home for a few days till he gets back on his feet. Still, he would take advantage of her hospitality as she was reluctant to let him crash at her house knowing about his own selfish habits. The film’s screenplay by Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch is mainly a character study of this washed-up porn star in Mikey Saber (Simon Rex) who returns to Texas City as he would take up a job selling weed for an elderly drug dealer in Leondria (Judy Hill) though she and her adult daughter June (Brittney Rodriguez) do not trust him while they warn him to not sell any weed to the local hardhat mill workers.
The script plays into Saber as someone who is really his own worst enemy in not just hurting those who offer his help but also in not taking responsibility for his own actions. Throughout the script, he talks about a bunch of things as there is a lot of ambiguity into whether he is telling the truth or talking bullshit as he would befriend his neighbor Lonnie (Ethan Darbone) who idolized Saber only to end up in things that put him in trouble. In meeting the young donut cashier Raylee who calls herself Strawberry (Suzanna Son), he believes he has a chance to get back into the world of pornography as she they embark on a sexual relationship even though she is barely underaged. Saber’s time with Strawberry would create tension as his estranged wife Lexi (Bree Elrod) and mother-in-law Lil (Brenda Deiss) become suspicious of his activities outside of the house as they know Leondria who is also becoming suspicious despite the money that Saber has been giving her. It would play into this sense of Saber not only overstaying his welcome but also getting caught up in his own bullshit where those around him realize what they must do.
Baker’s direction is stylish as it is shot in Texas City as well as areas at Galveston including its Island Historic Pleasure Pier, Nederland, and Kemah Boardwalk. Shot on 16mm film, Baker maintains a sense of grit and realism into the film as he shoots everything on location where it set in a small town in Texas where it is working class with a plant nearby where many of the local hard-hat workers are. Baker’s usage of wide and medium shots do play into this sense of a man who returns to his hometown where he does feel out of step with the times where some things had not changed since he left. Even as the home that Lexi and Lil live in is shambolic with a truck with no wheels and a home that does not have much but they are at least content despite a few financial struggles. Baker would use some hand-held cameras for some scenes while he would keep things steady as it plays into a man trying to get back into the world of pornography as there are a couple of scenes where Saber goes to a strip club. Baker’s usage of close-ups and zoom shots are a key aspect of the film as it play into Saber’s desire towards Strawberry as well as scenes where he has sex with Lexi to satisfy her sexual needs.
Also serving as the film’s editor where he employs some stylish jump-cuts, montages, and other rhythmic cuts to play into the humor as well as some of the drama that includes scenes of Saber riding a bicycle as it is the only form of transportation he has aside from rides from Lonnie. Also working as a co-sound designer with John Warrin and sound editor Andy Hay, Baker maintains an atmosphere that is realistic in the way sound is heard from afar inside a living room or on a location that is quiet and sparse. It all plays into the air of realism that Baker wanted as well as a scene late in the third act where Saber’s own bullshit on the people he fucked over finally come to ahead in a darkly-comical moment where humility comes to play. Baker does end the film on an ambiguous note as it relates to Saber’s own comeuppance as well as him facing this idea of the need to be truthful and own up to his actions or to continue to bullshit and hurt people he meets. Overall, Baker crafts an evocative and compelling film about washed-up porn star’s return to Texas where he meets a 17-year-old girl he hopes he can mooch from towards his return to the porn industry.
Cinematographer Drew Daniels does phenomenal work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on vibrant colors for some of the daytime scenes that includes the house that Strawberry lives in as well as some unique low-key lighting schemes for the exterior/interior scenes at night as it plays into the grainy 16mm film stock. Production designer Stephonik does excellent work with the interior look of Lexi’s home as well as the truck with no wheels outside of her home as well as the exterior/interior of the house that Strawberry lives in. Visual effects supervisors John J. Budion, Vico Sharabani, and Robi Thomas Vazhayil do terrific work with the visual effects as it is set dressing for some locations that play into the period the film is set in. Music supervisor Matthew Hearon-Smith does wonderful work with the music soundtrack as a lot of it is played on location through a mixture of music ranging from hip-hop, country, nu-metal, electronic music, and pop from such acts as Puddle of Mudd, the Crossing, Saul Consentino, Dave Tough, the Like Thes, Mason Dixon, 2am, Dixie Crystal, Electropoint, Spida4eva, and ‘Nsync whose song Bye Bye Bye is the lone song that is not played on location with the exception of a piano covered performed by Strawberry.
The film’s ensemble cast that is assembled by Baker includes a voice appearance from Karren Karagulian as a voice at a strip club, Lindsey Fuller as a news reporter whose house that Saber uses to claim that he lives there as a lie to Strawberry, Sophie as Lil and Lexi’s dog, Shih-Ching Tsou as the donut shop manager Mrs. Phan, David Maxwell as Lonnie’s dad, Parker Bigham as Strawberry’s friend Nash who thought she was his girlfriend, Dustin Hart and Brandy Kirl as Nash’s parents who confront Saber, Marlon Lambert as Leondria’s son Ernesto whom Saber used to go to school with, and Brittney Rodriguez in a superb performance as Leondria’s daughter June who is wary of Saber as she is the supplier and run things for her mother as she is someone that has little tolerance for bullshit. Ethan Darbone is fantastic as Lexi’s neighbor Lonnie as a man Lexi used to babysit as a kid where he spends time together with Saber unaware of the trouble, he is getting himself into where he becomes an unfortunate victim of Saber’s bullshit.
Judy Hill is excellent as Leondria as a local drug dealer/supplier who is suspicious of Saber knowing about his life back in Texas as she reluctantly gives him a job only to become more suspicious about the money he brings in. Brenda Deiss is brilliant in the role of Lexi’s mother Lil, who is initially willing to give Saber another chance, but she eventually becomes suspicious of him while also becoming uneasy with his presence at the house. Bree Elrod is amazing as Saber’s estranged wife Lexi who is reluctant to have him around while using him for sex and to do some things where she becomes suspicious of his activities outside of the house and frustrated by his refusal to help her with other things.
Suzanna Son is phenomenal in a break-out performance as Strawberry as a 17-year-old donut shop cashier who is fascinated by Saber as she is also interested in him sexually where she becomes someone that Saber needs to get back in the porn industry although she is unaware of how manipulative he is. Finally, there’s Simon Rex in a tremendous performance as Mikey Saber as a washed-up porn star who returns to Texas needing somewhere to crash only to take advantage of their hospitality while wooing a 17-year-old girl in the hopes he can get back to the porn industry. It is a performance where Rex brings a lot of dark elements of a man that constantly lies while also wanting to avoid responsibility to the point that people had enough where Rex highlight some humility and humor as it is a breakthrough for Rex.
Red Rocket is a spectacular film by Sean Baker that features great performances from Simon Rex and Suzanna Son. Along with its supporting cast, compelling character study, and gorgeous visuals. It is a film that goes to great lengths to explore a man who has burned many bridges only to put himself in more trouble with the people he meets to the point that he has no one to blame but himself. In the end, Red Rocket is a sensational film by Sean Baker.
Written and directed by Wes Anderson from a story by Anderson and Roman Coppola, The Phoenician Scheme is the story of a wealthy businessman who names his only daughter as his sole heir as they deal with rival businessmen and other forces wanting to take over. The film is an ensemble comedy-drama that follows a man who built his empire who installs his nun daughter to become his heir. Starring Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson, Hope Davis, Mathieu Almaric, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Rupert Friend, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The Phoenician Scheme is a whimsical and heartfelt film by Wes Anderson.
Set in the 1950s, the film follows a wealthy industrialist who has named his only daughter as his sole heir as the two along with a tutor traveling around the fictional European country of Phoenicia to deal with various investors over money, he skimmed over to salvage a project that he hopes would help Phoenicia. It is a film that explores a man who had been through many near-death experiences involving plane crashes and assassination attempts on his life where he decides to bring his eldest child into the fold even though she is about to become a nun as she is reluctant to take part in his criminal activities. Wes Anderson’s screenplay has a narrative that is straightforward with some strange yet surreal sequences that involves its protagonist Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) often visiting the afterlife following every near-death experience. These events forces him to name his estranged daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) as his sole heir as he has 10 other sons who are all adolescent and unable to help Korda in his schemes. Joining them on this trip through Phoenicia is a Norwegian entomologist in Bjorn (Michael Cera) whom Korda hired as a tutor in his own increasing interest in insects.
The script also has a unique structure into the group of people that Korda has to meet to cover his losses that includes a consortium led by two American brothers in Leland (Tom Hanks) and Reagan (Bryan Cranston), the heir to Phoenicia in Prince Farouk (Riz Ahmed), a French nightclub owner in Marseille Bob (Mathieu Almaric), an American investor in Marty (Jeffrey Wright), Korda’s second-cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson), and his half-brother Uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch) whom Korda believes killed Liesl’s mother many years ago. Korda would endure a series of challenges and events upon his journey as it would play into a character arc of his own as a man that is constantly dealing with assassins trying to kill him and other things while he gets to know Liesl. Liesl would have an arc of her own while also revealing her own quirks such as the fact that she carries a dagger and smokes with a pipe. Notably as she gains a view of the world though remains committed to her faith and becoming a nun. Bjorn is a character that is full of intrigue as he is fascinated by Liesl while he is also ambiguous in the things he talks about while often surrounds himself with insects as they fascinate him. The film also has a subplot relating to a government agent led by Excaliber (Rupert Friend) who is tailing Korda and his activities in the hope of disrupting everything for Korda.
Anderson’s direction is entrancing as it does play into his stylish usage of symmetrical compositions and diligence to everything he captures on film. Shot on location at the Babelsberg Studio in Germany and in a 1:48:1 aspect ratio format that is an unconventional presentation that is atypical with a lot of films. Anderson does maintain some unique compositions in some of the wide shots he creates to play into the fictional country of Phoenicia as it is a country between Europe and the Middle East. Anderson does maintain some stylish framing in the way he puts his actors in a medium shot or a close-up along with some intricate tracking shots where characters would move from one room to another. Anderson’s presentation of the scenes set in the afterlife are shot in black-and-white as there is an element of surrealism where Korda meet some people including his first wife (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a young Liesl (Beatrice Campbell) and a few others as it plays into his own brush with death.
The film also plays into the ideas of faith as it relates to Liesl who often prays during her journey while the sequence in which Korda meets with Bob at his nightclub that is being robbed by Communist revolutionaries led by Sergio (Richard Ayoade) as Korda, Liesl, and Bjorn would meet them again as they are all Atheists. There is a humorous take in how Anderson presents Atheism as it would help play in both Korda and Liesl’s character arcs as it relates to faith. Notably the former whose encounters with the afterlife through his near-death experiences forces him to contend with his own existence. The film’s climax relates to the final meetings with those he counted upon to help him save the project as well as confront Uncle Nubar who is the last investor who is also ambiguous into answering Liesl’s own questions about her mother. It would be followed by a ridiculous fight scene as well as other outlandish things followed by an epilogue that plays into the fate of Phoenicia, its project, and those close to Korda. Overall, Anderson crafts an evocative and enchanting film about a business tycoon trying to make amends with his estranged empire to save his criminal empire.
Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its stylish usage of lighting for interior scenes in the day and night as well as in the way some of the exterior scenes are lit including scenes at night such as a scene inside a crashed airplane with the usage of lamps and available light. Editor Barney Pilling, with additional work from Andrew Weisblum, does excellent work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts, slow-motion shots, and other stylish cuts to play into the suspense, action, and humor also knowing when to have shots linger on for around a minute. Production designer Adam Stockhausen, with set decorator Anna Pinnock plus art directors Marc Bitz, Neneh Lucia, Anja Muller, Esther Schreiner, and Mariana Vasconcellos, does brilliant work with the look of the Korda estate, the unfinished train tunnel, and other places including interiors of the planes that Korda flies in as it is a highlight of the film. Costume designer Milena Canonero does amazing work with the costumes in the design of the suits that Korda and Bjorn wears as well as the nun outfit that Liesl wears and the clothes of some of the other characters including the sweatpants and shoes that Leland and Reagan wear.
Hair/makeup designer Heike Merker and prosthetics designer Mark Coulier do terrific work with the look of the characters in the hairstyles that Liesl and Bjorn have as well as the big beard that Uncle Nubar has. Special effects supervisor Gerd Nefzer, along with visual effects supervisors Craig Crawford and Steve Murgatroyd, does fantastic work with the look of some of the models and miniatures used in the film along with a few bits of visual effects as set dressing. Sound editors Wayne Lemmer and Christopher Scarabosio do superb work with the sound in the way planes sound from the inside as well as the sounds of certain objects including weapons. The film’s music by Alexandre Desplat is wonderful for its low-key piano-based orchestral score that plays into the suspense and drama with some soft percussive and a low-key string arrangement to play into some dangerous scenes. Music supervisor Randall Poster cultivated a soundtrack that features classical music pieces from Igor Stravinsky, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Modest Mussorgsky as well as music from Gene Krupa and Dizzy Gillespie.
The film’s casting by Douglas Aibel is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Beatrice Campbell as a young Liesl, Donald Sumpter as a chairman that Excaliber works for, Alex Jennings as Korda’s butler, Jason Watkins as Korda’s attorney, Stephen Park as Korda’s pilot, and in the roles of Korda’s 10 adolescent sons in Edward Hyland, Ogden Dawson, Kit Rakusen, Milo James, Hector Bateman-Harden, Benjamin Lake, Gunes Taner, Gabriel Ryan, Mohamad Momo Ramadan, and Jonathan Wirtz. Other notable small roles as figures of people that Korda sees in the afterlife include Charlotte Gainsbourg as Korda’s first wife, Willem Dafoe as an attorney in Knave, F. Murray Abraham as a prophet, and Bill Murray as God. Hope Davis is fantastic as the Mother Superior who arrives in the film’s third function as Liesl’s mentor who learns about Liesl’s journey as well as getting to know Korda where she decides to join him in his own scheme for the good of Phoenicia.
Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston are superb in their respective roles as the brothers Leland and Reagan as two American investors who are upset over their own financial loss as they would settle this dispute through a game of horse where Hanks and Cranston display their skills in the game. Riz Ahmed and Richard Ayoade are excellent in their respective roles as the Phoenician heir Prince Farouk and the guerilla leader Sergio with the former being an investor who believes that Korda will do good while the latter is a Communist revolutionary who decides to join Korda in the film’s third act in dealing with enemies of Korda. Rupert Friend and Mathieu Almaric are brilliant in their respective roles as the bureaucratic Excaliber and the nightclub owner Marseille Bob with the former being a government agent trying to disrupt Korda’s activities and the latter being another investor who has issues with what Korda wants only for his encounter with Sergio changes everything.
Jeffrey Wright and Scarlett Johansson are amazing in their respective roles as the American investor Marty and Cousin Hilda with the former being an investor who is also upset over what Korda wants while the latter is Korda’s second cousin who is unsure about wanting to marry Korda to save his business as she is also trying to handle things for herself. Benedict Cumberbatch is great as Uncle Nubar as Korda’s half-brother who is also an investor yet remains mysterious in his own dealings while is also unwilling to answer questions about the death of Liesl’s mother. Michael Cera is incredible as Bjorn as a Norwegian entomologist who is hired as a tutor for Korda while also being an administrative assistant where he is full of humor and intrigue as he is also someone that is fascinated by Liesl.
Mia Threapleton is tremendous in a break-out performance as Liesl as Korda’s estranged daughter who is becoming a nun as she is reluctant to join her father on a trip through Phoenicia where she gets to see many wonders of the world while also being someone who smokes a pipe and carries a dagger where she has quirks of her own like her father. Finally, there is Benicio del Toro in a phenomenal performance as Zsa-Zsa Korda as a business tycoon who has created schemes to swindle people out of money where he is ruthless in his pursuits until a series of near-death experiences forces him to make some changes in saving a project for the country of Phoenicia where he gains some insights about the ways of the world. It is a witty performance from del Toro who brings a lot of complexities of a man with irredeemable qualities, yet he puts in things that would make him redeemable during his journey as he also has some amazing low-key chemistry with Threapleton.
The Phoenician Scheme is a sensational film by Wes Anderson that features a great leading performance from Benicio del Toro and a major discovery in Mia Threapleton. Along with its ensemble cast, dazzling visuals, a sumptuous music soundtrack, and a story of redemption and meaning amidst bad decisions and near-death experiences. The film is an offbeat yet compelling film that does mark a newfound maturity from Anderson in its exploration of family dysfunction as well as characters trying to find redemption from their bad habits. In the end, The Phoenician Scheme is a phenomenal film by Wes Anderson.
I never thought I would live in a country where Fascism is in front of my face. It is embarrassing to realize that you are among a small percentage of people who are rational in a world where everyone is starting to act irrationally. It is embarrassing to be an American right now when the whole world knows that we are a country that has lost the plot as our dumbass dictator gets a free plane from Qatar as a bribe right in front of everyone. It is not just him that this country is dealing with but also people of Congress and who are heading the many departments in the cabinet as they are all a bunch of fucking imbeciles. Yes, this is the world we live in now, and I am waiting for when everything falls apart. Fortunately, we do have a new pope in an American in Pope Leo. At first, I was not happy about the idea of an American pope but Pope Leo has managed to piss off the MAGA crowd and those dumb overly-religious folk so there is some hope at least for the time being.
Last month, I mentioned getting tickets to see Nine Inch Nails this coming September but given how things are economically. I will be sitting out this time around mainly because tickets are too expensive and I feel like I would be overspending on not just for one ticket but also for the merchandise, gas, parking, and other things. It is bad that it is going to be at the Gas South Arena in Duluth as I do not like driving to Duluth as I went through that in 2008 as I just do like driving on the highway. Especially on Spaghetti Junction as I get very anxious about driving on one of those tall bridges as well as the awful traffic there. Plus, I get lost easily in getting out of Duluth as that is another reason I will not go. Honestly, it sucks that I will not be going as I was not only hoping to see NIN again but also get some t-shirts and merchandise for myself as well as my niece and nephew to show my love for the band to them. Plus, I wanted to freak people out in their reaction to a six-year-old and a four-year-old wearing NIN t-shirts.
This year’s edition of the Cannes Film Festival I felt was lackluster in comparison to previous editions. The person I blame for this is its head programmer in Thierry Fremeaux as he is a fucking asshole who really loves to kiss Hollywood’s ass. Based on the coverage of the festival thanks in part to Indiewire and the Film Experience, this year’s festival lacked something that I noticed during all the coverage. Then I realized that it was the lack of booing and dramatic reactions to films which made Cannes in the past so fun to read about. This year’s festival had none of that as I read reports over long standing ovations as that felt odd and unnatural. It has me thinking about Wim Wenders’ experience back in the mid-2000s when he premiered one of his films at the festival where he got this long-standing ovation but after a few minutes. He got overwhelmed as he felt it was overkill. Personally, I would have rather gotten booed than get a standing ovation as I want to gain notoriety is more of an accomplishment than being praised.
Still, the festival did get me excited for a lot of the films that played at the festival such as Ari Aster’s Eddington, Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, Lynne Ramsay’s Die, My Love, and Nouvelle Vague by Richard Linklater. The directorial debuts from Scarlett Johansson, Harris Dickinson, and Kristen Stewart also got good notices as I hope to see them soon, yet it was the films that won the major prizes that has me elated as none of those films are American. This year’s Palme d’Or winner in It Was Just an Accident by Jafar Panahi as Panahi is now the fourth filmmaker to win the Triple Crown of the 3 major European film festivals that includes Berlin and Venice. The Dardenne Brothers continue to be favorites at Cannes with their newest film Young Mothers as it won the Best Screenplay Prize and the Ecumenical Jury Prize while Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value won the festival’s Grand Jury Prize. Oliver Laxe’s Sirat and Mascha Schilinski’s Sound of Falling shared the festival’s third-place Jury Prize. Nadia Melliti won the Best Actress prize for her performance in Hafsia Herzi’s The Little Sister which also won the festival’s Queer Palm award.
Finally, Kleber Mendonca Filho won the festival’s Best Director Prize for his film The Secret Agent which also won Best Actor for Wagner Moura, the AFCAE Art House Cinema Award, and the festival’s FIPRESCI prize. Another thing that happened at Cannes that has me excited is a sequel to the Dogme 95 movement in Dogme 25 founded by May el-Thouky, Milad Alami, Isabella Eklof, Annika Berg, and Jesper Just with the blessing of Dogme 95 co-founders Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg that include a new set of rules that can be seen here. With the lack of originality in cinema where everyone is making sequels and remakes of old movies. This is what the film movement needs even though it will not last like Dogme 95 did before but at least it is a step in the right direction in making original ideas.
In the month of May 2025, I saw a total of 20 films in 10 first-timers and 20 re-watches with one film directed by a woman as part of the 52 Films by Women pledge. An improvement over the last month although it has not been easy trying to find the time and energy to watch a lot of feature films. One of highlights of the month has been my Blind Spot film in Limite. Here are the top 5 first-timers that I saw for May 2025:
One of two shorts from omnibus films that featured the work of Victor Erice is a three-minute short film starring Ana Torrent from Erice’s first film The Spirit of the Beehive as his segment for the 2012 omnibus film 3.11 Sense of Home in which filmmakers make a 3 minute and 11 second short about the Tohoku earthquake and the tsunami that followed on March 11, 2011. Erice’s short has Torrent talking about humanity as she records her monologue on a laptop as she is about to get ready for a stage performance. It is a simple yet effective short that is about the power of solidarity and the human spirit.
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet-Lifeline
From the 2002 anthology film series Ten Minutes Older for The Trumpet section of the two-part film series is a rich 10-minute short film by Erice set during the Spanish Civil War. Shot in a small town, the short follows a family during a quiet day as children play outside while a woman sleeps while her baby is also sleeping until he cries. Originally shot in color, the film would be presented in black-and-white as it plays into the simplicity of a life as well as the things that bring a family together during the darkest of times.
Tram
As part of MUBI’s animation special is a short by Michaela Pavlatova about a trolley conductor who drives many men to their stops as she thinks about their penises. It is an 8-minute animated short that is not for children. Still, it has a lot of imagination as it plays into a woman’s desire and imagination in wanting to get laid.
Aqua
One of four short films by Gints Zilbalodis that I saw on YouTube as this one from 2012 is a 7-minute short that follows a cat boarding a boat during a flood. The short is a test-run for his 2024-award winning film Flow as it carries the same sense of raw computer animation and hand-drawn animation. The short is a showcase of what Zilbalodis can do with the limited resources he has as it is a must-watch for anyone that loves Flow.
The Keys to Freedom
From Wim Wenders is this four-minute and 19-second documentary short film that has Wenders travel to Reims, France at a place that is now a school. Inside the school is a museum where World War II ended in Europe where 2 German officers signed the surrender with 2 keys being the centerpiece of this short. The keys belonged to the mayor of the time as he lent them to the leaders of the Allies at the time and after the treaty was signed. The keys were returned to its mayor. Wenders comments on the symbolism of the keys as it relates to what is happening on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean here hoping that these dark times would end.
Inaudible
The second of four short films by Zilbalodis that I saw on YouTube is about a musician who lost his hearing after being struck by lightning. It is a short told in a non-linear presentation where it plays into a man who is a street cleaner that is unable to hear other locals play music as well as express himself through his trumpet. It is a touching short that shows Zilbalodis who knows what to do to tell a story. Not through dialogue but through music where it plays into this man’s despair as well as his own sense of longing to play.
Rush
The third of four shorts by Zilbalodis is a one-minute and twenty-five second short about a young man trying to cross the street during the Xmas holidays. It plays into the idea of patience and this man’s lack of patience where he nearly gets himself killed. There is an element of humor that Zilbalodis does while he also plays into the idea of why everyone should look at the crosswalk signals.
Followers
The fourth short by Zilbalodis that I saw from his YouTube channel is a 7-minute short about a thief who gets caught as he escapes from prison where he finds a young schoolboy pickpocketing a passenger on a bus. The short plays into the parallel journey these two take part in as they come together to escape from the authorities and those they stole from. It is an incredible short by Zilbalodis who knows about the complexities of human beings and behaviors that includes the difficulty of wanting to do the right thing.
Andor (season 2, episodes 5-12)
What Tony Gilroy and the writers and filmmakers of this series has created is something that I doubt will ever be topped in terms of what Stars Wars could be as it is the best TV program that the franchise has created. Notably in the third block of three episodes in episodes 7 through 9 as it relates to the events at the planet of Ghorman including its massacre and the aftermath in which Mon Montha denounces Emperor Palpatine for what had happened. Genevieve Reilly brings a lot of weight to Montha as a woman stuck between a world of materialism and the political turmoil that would eventually lead to her exile from the Senate and become a leader of the Rebellion. Diego Luna continues to be the drive of the series as the titular character while highlighting what made Andor into the fearsome yet complicated character that audiences would see in Rogue One. Reilly and Luna are not just the standouts in the series that has made the show great with Stellan Skargard’s Luthen, Denise Gough’s Dedra Meero, Faye Marsay’s Vel, Adria Arjona’s Bix, and Kyle Soller’s Syril continuing to deliver great performances.
The show also feature some breakout performances in Elizabeth Dulau as Luthen’s longtime assistant Kleya who is tremendous in the second season with the last 3 block of episodes displaying her willingness to survive as well as be a key player in the Rebellion. Even in making uneasy decisions where the 10th episode learn how she and Luthen met and what she would do for the Rebellion. Another actor who stood out is Anton Lesser as the ISB leader Lio Partagaz as he is a rare villain that does not seek glory or ambition but rather to ensure a job is completed. A man who is rational in an organization filled with irrational people such as Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic and other figures in the Empire. Lesser’s final scene as Partagaz is one of the best as he plays a man who has a revelation about the Rebellion based on Nemik’s manifesto from the first season where he realizes what is to come. It is a show that has raised the bar of what a TV series could be like as well as in playing a role in one of the most popular film franchises ever.
That is all for May. Next month, I will do a review of The Phoenician Scheme by Wes Anderson with my Auteurs essay on Ryan Coogler coming in June as it is more than half-finished. While I am unsure which film I will make next for my Blind Spot film as well as whatever films I will review as it has not been easy to find the time to watch films. Especially as there are projects that I still want to do including something in July to celebrate my 25th anniversary in writing as I had done a decade ago with a list of my favorite films of the 21st Century so far.
Before I go, I want to express my condolences towards those who passed away this month such as Valerie Mahaffey, Loretta Swit, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Alan Yentob, Rick Derringer, Ed Gale, Peter Kwong, violinist Simon House, Michael Sumler of Kool & the Gang, Marcel Ophuls, musician Kenny Marco, James Lowe of the Electric Prunes, Michael Roemer, production designer Leslie Dilley, George Wendt, musician Chris Hager, songwriter Roger Nichols, Uruguayan president Jose Mujica, filmmaker Robert Benton, musician Larry Lee, Johnny Rodriguez, Jiri Bartoska, Joe Don Baker, filmmaker James Foley, makeup artist Greg Cannom, Jill Sobule, and the Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal Sabu! One of the greatest pro wrestlers that ever lived and is the embodiment of ECW. We will miss you all. This is thevoid99 signing off…
